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Launched in 2006, Sci Fi Channel is the Australian version of Syfy… although at the time, it was simply the Australian version of the channel by the same name. Now, however, three-plus years after the name (and logo) change — funny how the grammar police has moved on to other things needing their devoted attention and Syfy has grown into being most excellent these days — the Australian version, which is owned not by NBCUniversal but by Australian media conglomerate Foxtel is changing its name not to Syfy, because that would be way too many letters, but to SF. Try to pronounce it. Suuhhfffhhn. Rolls off deep of your sternum, no? Shut up, I know it’s pronounced S [breathe] F. Anyway. With the new name, SF has introduced a new logo and on-air package designed by Sydney-based Ink Project that will begin rollout at the end of August.

The SF rebrand will be supported with a new tagline “we are sci fi” and a revolving set of “we are…” descriptors that have been developed to showcase the rich choice of content on the channel. […] An inspiring suite of SF idents have been designed by Ink Project to entice and energise the viewer with cinematic imagery and a broad spectrum of interesting characters. Each character holds a distinctive point of difference, reflecting the depth of genres available on SF.

The old logo… well, we all liked the old logo and already mourned its death once; it seems too zombie-ish to kill it again. The new logo looks like a combination of the new Syfy identity and its competitor, Discovery’s SCIENCE — yes, all caps (see here for a refresher). It takes the purple-y, groovy feel of the former and then crams it into a nondescript orb that does stuff. It pulsates. It opens to reveal what appears to be the best disco party ever. It peels and rotates. It’s a fun thing when it animates but static, and it does stay put quite a bit, it’s odd, with a sliced section. And I still have to mention the very odd typography in said orb. It’s like two different races of aliens came together to form a wordmark. The “S” is from one planet and the “f” or “F” — who knows?! — is from another planet. I could say another galaxy, but they are still both sans serives. In their defense, they do evolve from the old logo.

And in defense of the project, the on-air graphics and personality come to the rescue of the logo. Specially the character idents, which are equally creepy and awesome. The supporting typography has a great feel too, edgy and airy; I sort of wish something like it would have played out in the logo. And, finally, perhaps a little something you didn’t know about me: I like purple. A lot. So all this purple tinting and purple auras and purple pulsations I like. A lot. Overall, despite my lack of excitement about the logo on its own, this is a fun redesign that keeps within the confines of what we expect a science channel to look like in 2012.

Reviewed
August 6, 201208.06.12by Armin

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Comments

SF = Syfy = Sci Fi = Science Fiction

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Launched in 2006, Sci Fi Channel is the Australian version of Syfy… although at the time, it was simply the Australian version of the channel by the same name. Now, however, three-plus years after the name (and logo) change — funny how the grammar police has moved on to other things needing their devoted attention and Syfy has grown into being most excellent these days — the Australian version, which is owned not by NBCUniversal but by Australian media conglomerate Foxtel is changing its name not to Syfy, because that would be way too many letters, but to SF. Try to pronounce it. Suuhhfffhhn. Rolls off deep of your sternum, no? Shut up, I know it's pronounced S [breathe] F. Anyway. With the new name, SF has introduced a new logo and on-air package designed by Sydney-based Ink Project that will begin rollout at the end of August.